UMA162 Solmania – Erosion LP edition of 199 | 22 €
Erosion captures an astounding concert at Eggplant, in Osaka May 15th 1987, recorded at the venue, using guitar, tape, radio, metal, turntable and voice and published on cassette by Solmania own legendary label Fatagaga Tapes the same year in very limited edition. Fully remastered from the original analog tapes, vinyl is comprising a single, extended work over two sides, for about 30 minutes where the artist dives into one of the most joyous and tense musical expressions to have emerged during that decade, generating dense, trance-inducing guitar drones that seem to touch the eternal, washing the ear in rich overtones and harmonics embellishments that transcend their sources – the original instrument – in uncanny ways.
While unquestionably a work of free improvisation, bordering on noise, Erosion is particularly noteworthy for how far it often strays from the expected tropes and syntaxes of that idiom. Intricate and delicate movements, the artist weaves moments of profound catharsis into moody passages that are permeated by images of dystopian sci-fi – driven by the sounds of guitar – creating a soundtrack for an ever darkening world, while managing to retain all the hope and optimism embodied by a creative territory and language that activates conversation and the communication of ideas across distinctions of cultural, individual practice, and time.
Reissued for the first time ever on vinyl in just 199 copies with its original terrific skull head art on reverse cardboard sleeve that perfectly reproduce cassette’s original artwork, Erosion is a masterpiece of guitar drone, its dense harmonics and overtones induce trance-like states, providing one of the most creatively thrilling, immersive experiences that we can call to mind. Highly recommended and not to be missed.
Available via our Bandcamp page here or drop us an email to the usual address if you’d like place an order.